


Beneath the Waves

by aretia



Series: Halcyon Harbor [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Blood, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-03-21 03:42:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13732404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aretia/pseuds/aretia
Summary: An accident leads to Sendak's discovery of Haxus's past trauma, and a new mer-Galra arrives in the harbor.





	Beneath the Waves

**Author's Note:**

> This is for Sexus Week day 3: AU day! I'll be continuing this series whenever there's a Sexus or Galra related event.

Storm clouds hung heavy over the shore as a chilly breeze whipped through the air. The rising sun was hidden behind the clouds, so it was still fairly dark while Sendak and his boss, Prorok, did their early morning work on the fishing docks, hauling in the nets that they had hung off of the pier overnight. 

“Sendak! A little help here!” Prorok grunted, wrestling with a net. Sendak ran over and grabbed the other side of the net. “This thing weighs a ton! Must be a big catch!” Prorok marveled through his labored breaths.

But when the net broke the water’s surface, Sendak felt the blood drain from his face. It wasn’t fish in the net. He saw smooth purple skin, crossed with black bleeding lacerations from the rough ropes, and a long tail thrashing in panic. They pulled the net onto the pier, and Sendak saw Haxus’s terrified face.

Prorok stumbled back from the net, frozen in astonishment. “Is that a mer-Galra? I thought they were a myth!”

“Haxus!” Sendak screamed.

Now Prorok looked at Sendak with an even more confounded expression. “Wait, you know him?”

“He’s my mate!” said Sendak. “Quick, help me untangle him!” Prorok ran to the fish crate and grabbed a knife. Haxus started shrieking when he saw it, but he relaxed slightly when he saw that Prorok was cutting the ropes away from his body, not attacking him. 

Sendak focused his efforts on calming Haxus down. He crouched over him and held down his arms gently but firmly, so that Prorok wouldn’t accidently nick him while he thrashed around. “Haxus. Haxus, look at me,” Sendak said in an even, soothing tone. “We’re going to get you out of here. Everything’s going to be okay. I’m here, I won’t let anything hurt you. Just hang on…” 

He searched Haxus’s eyes for a trace of affection, or even recognition. All he saw was fear. That look was like a knife twisting in Sendak’s heart. 

“There we go,” said Prorok, cutting the last rope and then pulling the net away from Haxus’s body.

“You’re okay now,” Sendak said. He moved his hands from Haxus’s arms to cradle his face. “Do you want me to put some healing ointment on your cuts?” 

As soon as Sendak was no longer restraining him, Haxus pulled away from his touch. “Haxus, wait!” Sendak called. Before he could stop him, Haxus scrambled to the edge of the pier and threw himself back into the water. 

Sendak sank to his knees and his shoulders slumped. “Everything okay, buddy?” Prorok asked him.

“No,” Sendak sighed. “Did you see how upset he was?”

“Yeah, I imagine it’s pretty traumatic getting caught in a net,” said Prorok. “But he’ll be okay.”

“I’m not sure. He seemed… different,” said Sendak. “I think I need to go see him. Can I have the rest of the day off?”

“Sure, I guess,” said Prorok. “I feel bad for scaring the little guy.”

“Thank you so much,” said Sendak. 

“Wait. How _are_ you going to go see him?” Prorok called after him, but Sendak had already dashed off.

 

When Sendak arrived at the pier in his drysuit, he was relieved to see Haxus’s ears poking out from behind his favorite rock. He was less relieved by Haxus’s sobbing that he could hear all the way from the shore. There was an old superstition that the sound of a mer-Galra crying meant a storm was coming. Sendak glanced up at the dark sky, then down at the waves crashing against the pilings, and trepidation clawed at his heart. Maybe there was some truth to that myth. 

Sendak jumped off the pier into the water far below. His face plunged into the water, and he scrambled up to the surface, gasping for breath. A chill ran down his spine. The wind was cold, and the water was even colder. His suit insulated him somewhat, and the exercise of treading water would keep his core warm, but the water against his face was so cold that it stung. He started paddling towards the rock, his muscles fighting against the current pushing him back to the shore. He couldn’t seem to get any closer, he was getting exhausted, and he was too low in the water to even see whether Haxus was still there. He would move faster if he could put his head underwater to streamline himself, but he didn’t know how to hold his breath.

Suddenly, the swimming got a lot easier. The current was in his favor. He threw himself into it, paddling with renewed strength. It was too late when he realized that the current was pulling him into the trough of the enormous wave now looming above him. 

Water crashed on top of him, sending him tumbling down into the depths, his futile gasps for air only filling his lungs with water. He couldn’t find his way back up; every direction was as dark as any other. Darkness was seeping into his own vision, too. The last thing he saw was a pair of glowing golden eyes swimming towards him before he lost his grip on consciousness.

 

Sendak woke up and sputtered, coughing water out of his lungs. He was still in his drysuit, lying on his back in the shallow water by the shore, underneath the pier where he was protected from the waves and the rain. His head was in Haxus’s lap. Haxus’s concerned face came into his vision, peering over him, and when Sendak met his eyes, relief washed over Haxus’s features. “Sendak! Are you okay?” he cried.

“Yes,” Sendak rasped hoarsely. “Thanks to you, Haxus.”

“Good. Then, what were you thinking?!” Haxus scolded. He pinched Sendak’s ear, and Sendak yelped. “You can barely swim, and we’re in the middle of a storm! Why would you try to swim alone in these conditions?”

“Because you were upset,” Sendak replied. “After you got caught in the net. You were crying. I wanted to comfort you.”

“Oh, Sendak,” Haxus sighed. He leaned down and pressed his forehead against Sendak’s. “That’s very kind of you. But you can’t go risking your life like that.” He nuzzled his nose along Sendak’s temple. “I love you. No one has ever cared about me as much as you do. But I can’t lose you. You’re all I have…” His voice cracked. When he pulled away, Sendak could see the tears forming in the corners of his eyes, dripping down his cheeks and landing on Sendak’s face.

Sendak pushed himself up out of Haxus’s lap and sat beside him. His head spun, still woozy from the lack of oxygen, but he managed to stay upright enough that Haxus didn’t notice. He pulled him close, and Haxus pressed his head against Sendak’s chest while he cried softly. Sendak frowned when he saw the cuts from the net all over his body. They had stopped bleeding, but the angry black marks still stood out against his purple skin. 

Sendak tilted Haxus’s face up with his fingers, and ran his thumb over his cheek to wipe away the tears. “It’s okay, Hax,” he whispered. “I’m never going to leave you. I promise I’ll be more careful from now on.” 

Haxus sniffed. “You have no idea how much you mean to me, Sendak…” He wrapped his arms around Sendak’s neck, weaving his fingers into the soft fur of his ruff, and then dragged Sendak in for a kiss, needy and desperate. Haxus pulled away, breathless, and then looked up at Sendak, biting his lip. Sendak wanted to kiss him again, but he hesitated, sensing that Haxus wanted to say something, and was gathering the mental strength to say it. 

“I was so lonely until I met you,” said Haxus. “Ever since my mother died…” 

“Oh, Haxus, you never told me about that,” murmured Sendak. “What happened?”

“She was taken from me,” Haxus growled. “Right before my eyes. I saw her get pulled up in a net, and then… the blood running down the side of the ship…” Haxus shuddered, the images of the tragedy playing behind his eyelids. His voice cracked so much that he wasn’t able to speak anymore. His body began to shake with sobs, and he pressed himself against Sendak’s chest, claws gripping handfuls of the suit fabric. Sendak rocked him back and forth with the waves and let out a soothing purr. 

“I’m so sorry, Haxus,” Sendak said. “Why would they do such a thing?”

“I think it’s because the land-walkers wanted all the fish in the bay to themselves. And they think we’re bad luck. That’s what someone who escaped from them told me,” said Haxus. “So, after that, I had to get out of there. I moved to this harbor, but there aren’t any other mer-Galra here. That’s why you’re the only one who’s ever really been there for me…” 

Haxus was out of breath from talking through his sobs. Sendak leaned over, briefly dipping Haxus’s upper body into the water. His tail was still underwater, but he couldn’t breathe as easily through his skin as through the gills on his neck. Haxus gasped gratefully, and then pulled himself back up to cuddle against Sendak’s chest again. 

“When I got caught in the net, I thought I was going to die,” said Haxus. “But when I saw you up on the deck, I knew I was going to be safe. I knew you would save me.” 

“And I always will,” Sendak assured him. “I swear to you, as long as I live, I will do everything in my power to keep you safe…” 

Haxus nuzzled against Sendak’s cheek. “I know you will. Thank you, Sendak,” he said. “But no more diving into the water on your own to look for me, okay? If I want to see you, I’ll come find you, and we’ll swim out together.”

Sendak nodded in understanding. Something in what Haxus said didn’t quite settle, however. “You mean you didn’t want to see me today?” Sendak asked.

“Well… not at first,” Haxus admitted. “I wanted to be alone. But then I heard you in the water, so of course I came to get you. Mostly I was just upset that you put yourself in danger.” 

Sendak’s ears drooped. “I’m so sorry, Haxus…” 

“No, no, it’s okay,” Haxus reassured him. “You deserve to know why I swam off like that at the dock. Besides,” he said, looking up at Sendak with a small smile, “I’m always happier when you’re here. I feel much better now.” 

“I’m so happy to hear that, my love.” Sendak was smiling too as he pressed a kiss to Haxus’s lips.

The cold wind still nipped at Sendak’s face, and the chill from the water was beginning to seep into his suit. He would need to dry himself off soon. But with Haxus’s warmth around him, and affection for him blossoming in his chest, he wanted to stay a little longer. 

 

Prorok wished he hadn’t given Sendak the day off. He had to comfort his boyfriend, Prorok understood that. Besides, he probably wouldn’t have focused on his work if he had been worried about Haxus, anyway. Still, Prorok had a few more nets to pull in, and it was a dangerous job to do by himself. What did Sendak think he was doing, a fisherman dating a fish? Grumbling petulantly, Prorok revved the motor of his small boat and cruised out into the harbor. 

Prorok’s boat glided to a stop beside the buoy where one of his nets was anchored. He untied it from the buoy and began to reel it in. As it drew closer to the surface, he noticed how unusually heavy it was. Now he really wished Sendak was here. He huffed and groaned and braced his feet against the deck as he struggled to pull the net onto the boat. At least all his effort would mean a bigger catch.

When the net emerged from the surface, however, Prorok was so startled that he almost dropped it back into the water. There were a few fish in the net, but what accounted for most of the weight was a chubby, bluish-gray mer-Galra lounging on top of the pile. He didn’t seem to notice Prorok hauling him out of the water, completely engrossed in the fish he was devouring, holding it up to his mouth with both hands.

Prorok pulled the net aboard with one final tug, and the force sent him falling back against the deck when he let go. That was enough to startle the fish thief. He dropped his hands from his mouth and looked up at Prorok with wide eyes, the fish still dangling from his mouth. 

“There’s another one of you?” Prorok stammered in disbelief.

The mer-Galra pulled the fish out of his mouth while his short, curled ears gave a twitch. “It’d be news to me. I’m one of a kind,” he said, in fluent Galran. If he hadn’t been seen in this harbor before, he had to be a traveler from another populated shore where he’d picked it up. “Name’s Morvok.”

“There was another mer-Galra in this harbor… never mind,” Prorok growled. “What I really want to know is why were you stealing my fish?!”

“They’re yours?” Morvok said, nonchalantly taking another bite. “They were still in the ocean, so I figured they’re free game.”

“Have you never heard of the concept of fishing?” Prorok roared in frustration. He pushed himself to his feet with a huff and stomped over to the net. “You know what, it doesn’t matter. Just give me the rest of the fish—”

He leaned down and grabbed one of the fish from beside Morvok, and at the same time, Morvok grabbed his arm and locked eyes with him. A chill went down Prorok’s spine. Suddenly, he understood why Sendak was willing to go to such lengths for his mate from the depths. These creatures had an otherworldly beauty about them that left his head spinning with curiosity.

Morvok pulled on Prorok’s arm and set him off balance, toppling onto the pile of fish. With more grace than one would expect for a landed sea creature, Morvok wormed his way out from underneath him and threw himself overboard.

Prorok scrambled to the edge of the boat, and all he saw was a ripple. “Hey! Get back here!” Prorok yelled.

Morvok popped his head out of the water. “What? So you can tell me never to come back again?”

Prorok hesitated. That had been what he was going to say. But then how did it make sense for him to call Morvok back to say it? He realized that he was curious about Morvok, even if he was a fish thief, and didn’t want to miss a chance to get to know him.

“If I catch you stealing fish from my net again, I’ll butcher you along with them,” Prorok barked. It was an empty threat, of course, but getting some aggression out helped with his confused feelings. “But if you want to ask nicely for them, try meeting me at the dock and I’ll consider giving you some scraps.” 

Morvok shrugged. “Still better than hunting, I guess,” he said. “I’ll take you up on that offer.” Then, he disappeared under the surface with a flash of his gray tail. 

Prorok sat back down on the deck, wondering just what he was getting himself into.


End file.
